Volume 137, Issue 8
News
BIODIESEL: Sticking it to big oil
BY
ADAM BRODY
Editor
ADAM BRODY / GUARDSMAN
Ben Macri, automotive department chair, assists Hope Smith of BioFuel Oasis in refueling her Volkswagen with biodiesel.
As gas prices approach $3 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration estimates America now spends over $200,000 a minute on imported oil. With increasing demand and decreasing production of domestic oil, people could soon be looking to City College for an alternative.
On Feb. 25, the Evans campus hosted “Veggie Vroom,” a seven-hour workshop exploring the manufacture and application of the revolutionary alternative fuel, biodiesel, presented by Hope Smith of BioFuel Oasis in Berkeley, and biodiesel expert Girl Mark.
Positive response to the seminar has prompted the campus to offer a second, to be held May 6. David Dias, a technology coordinator for City College’s Advanced Transportation Technology Center, suggested the only thing hindering the widespread use of the fuel is a sound infrastructure. “People are curious, but they don’t know how it works,” he said. These workshops give them that opportunity … it’s about education and empowering people to be able to make their own fuel.”
A semester long biodiesel class is planned in response to increasing interest.
The Mayor’s Office is currently considering a proposal that would mandate a percentage of San Francisco city vehicles to use alternative fuels, Dias said.
“Biodiesel is a lot more sexy; it’s more romantic than some of the other alternative fuel options out there,” Dias said. “It is fastest growing alternative fuel in America … we’re looking at different ways to get grant money to set up a permanent biodiesel program here at City College.”
The 1.5 unit class will count as elective credit for the automotive program. It should be instituted within the next two semesters depending on the grant, and will become the only semester long class in the Bay Area on the subject, Dias said.
Dias remains intrigued by biodiesel more than other alternative fuels. “If you really want to stick it to big oil … and you really want to make a difference, being able to make fuel at home, that’s the main thing.”
Producing biodiesel involves mixing vegetable oil with methanol, along with a catalyst such as (potassium or sodium) hydrochloride, to remove the glycerol.
Biodiesel is usually made from 100 percent vegetable oil and can be substituted or mixed with standard petroleum diesel in almost every application with little or no engine modification.
It is the only alternative fuel to fully complete the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, while boasting a zero total emissions production facility. It’s also non-toxic, non-flammable, biodegradable, fossil fuel free… and smells like popcorn.
Since biodiesel is often made from used vegetable oil, it helps save landfill space. It also extends engine life due to superior lubrication, without a loss in performance or miles per gal lon, according to the Pacific Biodiesel Web site.
“The use of biodiesel boosts rural economies and helps lessen our dependence on foreign oil, whilst reducing the amount of toxins we release into the air that pollute our environment and harm our health,” said Richard Blackledge, project manager for Biodiesel America.
ADAM BRODY / GUARDSMAN |
Biodiesel emits 70 percent less greenhouse gases than “dino-diesel,” while electric hybrids only reduce gases by 30 percent, said Smith, of BioFuel Oasis.
Currently, BioFuel Oasis sells biodiesel for approximately $3.50 a gallon – although that number could be lessened if produced on a mass scale.
“I filled up with biodiesel for the first time two weeks ago and I’m happy as a clam,” said customer Christopher MacKinney. “I don’t feel guilty about driving … and it doesn’t stink.”
“The single largest user of biodiesel in the U.S. is the military,” said Michael S. Briggs of University of New Hampshire physics department. “All stateside Air Force bases now use B20 (biodiesel/petrol mix) in almost all of their diesel vehicles, and in many backup power generators. A Navy base in California is even making its own biodiesel.”
Briggs suggests that alternative fuels could replace all reliance on fossil based fuels in the near future: “The most realistic option for ending our petroleum dependence is through a mixed market of ethanol and biodiesel, with ethanol being used in spark-ignition engines, and biodiesel being used in compression-ignition engines.”
An upcoming policy change would lower levels of sulfur allowed in petroleum diesel fuel in the U.S., making them similar to standards in Europe. “In 2007 we should see more diesel passenger cars being sold in the U.S., due to the Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel mandate going into effect in October 2006,” Briggs said. “More diesel vehicles on the road will facilitate the use of more biodiesel.”
President Bush signed the American JOBS Creation Act in 2004 and put into effect the first biodiesel tax incentive. It will increase domestic energy security and stimulate the economy, according to the National Biodiesel Board.
NBB predicts the provisions will prompt an economic surge in fields such as agriculture and manufacturing, creating an estimated 50,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next ten years.
“In the U.S. the biodiesel industry has grown steadily from two million gallons produced in 2000, to over 60 million gallons in 2004,” Blackledge said.
“The general public is finally catching on to the urgency of supporting fossil-fuel alternatives,” said Kelly King, marketing and special projects for Pacific Biodiesel Inc. “We truly believe biodiesel has the potential to help correct the world’s global warming problems and we are dedicated to increasing production of this cleaner, renewable fuel throughout the U.S. and beyond.”
e-mail: metronews@theguardsman.com
BY
PAULETTE BLEAM
Editor
HALIE JOHNSON / GUARDSMAN |
City College’s journalism students walked away with top honors at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges state convention April 7-9, capturing the coveted Pacesetter Award and General Excellence for The Guardsman, etc. magazine and The Guardsman Web site.
Individually, students picked up 26 awards in writing, photography, layout, headline writing, essay writing, advertising design and editors’ honor roll competitions.
The Pacesetter Award is comparable to the “Pulitzer” for journalists at the community college level and is awarded to the state’s top newspapers. The Guardsman captured its first Pacesetter in 1998. “It was a tremendous feat for our students to sweep top honors,” Journalism Department Chair Juan Gonzales said. “It was a testament to a year of hard work and dedication and a commitment to excellence in producing a quality newspaper that serves our campus community.”
The Guardsman Managing Editor Coleen Mackin said the judges take into account three semesters’ worth of work. “It was finally our turn to celebrate,” Mackin said.
The conference attracted some 45 schools from around the state.
City College winners of the mail-in competition include Francisco Fernandez and Coleen Mackin for front page design, Summers Henderson for magazine profile and Joseph Sharkey for editorial cartoon.
Mackin also won the tabloid layout on-the-spot contest and Adam Brody was the winner of the bring-in essay.
“The students did the college proud,” Gonzales said. “Let’s keep in mind: A college without a newspaper is a college without a soul.”
On-the-spot Contest Winners:
Coleen Mackin, 1st place, Tabloid Layout; Coleen Mackin, 3rd place, Headline Writing; Alexander K. Fong, H.M., Broadsheet Layout; Alexander K. Fong, H.M., Critical Review; Kathleen Donovan, H.M., Critical Review; Dan Powell and Nathan Weyland, 4th place, Team Feature; Eli Milchman, H.M., Feature Writing
Bring-in Contest Winners:
Adam Brody, 1st place, Bring-in Essay; Colleen Cummins, Antonella Fabaiani, Coleen Mackin, Nathan Weyland, 1st place, Team Photo Story; Colleen Cummins, Marketa Kroupova, Coleen Mackin, Nathan Weyland, 2nd place, Team Photo Story; Halie Johnson, H.M., Bring-in Advertisement
Mail-in Contest Winners:
Dante Mendoza, 2nd place, Magazine Illustration; Joseph Sharkey, 1st place, Editorial Cartoon; Philip Garcia, 2nd place, Editorial Cartoon; Dan Sankey, H.M., Sports Game Story; Hubert Huang, H.M., Sports Game story; Anthony Castellano, 2nd place, Magazine Photo Essay; Rosalind Kwan, 2nd place, Feature Photo; Gennady Sheyner, H.M., Feature Story; Hubert Huang, H.M., Investigative News Story/Series; Francisco Fernandez & Coleen Mackin, 1st place, Front Page Design – Tabloid; Mark Folkman, 1st place, Magazine News/Feature; Anthony Castellano, 3rd place, Magazine News/Feature; Chris Stafford, 4th place, Magazine News/Feature; Summers Henderson, 1st place, Magazine Profile; Suzanne Brinkley, 2nd place, Magazine Profile
Other Awards:
Juan Gonzales, Extra Mile Award; Colleen Cummins, Editor’s Honor Roll; Lucy Kennedy, Editor’s Honor Roll; etc. magazine, Magazine General Excellence; The Guardsman, General Excellence, Online Journalism; The Guardsman, General Excellence – Tabloid
COLLEGE CONSIDERS LEGAL ACTION: Military recruiters might be banned from campus
BY ALEX K. FONG
Editor
|
COLLEEN CUMMINS / GUARDSMAN |
Aaron Saler, a member of the City College Anti-War Network, protested military recruiting at San Francisco State University on March 9.As war continues in Iraq, City College may challenge a federal law that allows military recruiting on campus.
“If they want to get their recruitment quotas up, then I don’t think going onto college campuses will help,” Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. said.
Day has asked the City College Board of Trustees to look into two options: a lawsuit or an outright ban.
Either choice would have to address the Solomon Amendment, a law that requires colleges to give campus access to military recruiters or lose federal funding.
A legal challenge against the Solomon Amendment would follow a ruling by the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. That court decided a college cannot be penalized for exercising its First Amendment right to protest the exclusion of gays from military service by barring military recruiters from campus.
But San Francisco falls under the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which covers seven western states plus Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
“That’s why this issue is raised — to make sure that [the decision] has a crossover,” Board of Trustees President Rodel Rodis said.
Federal money provides $27.5 million of the $242 million overall district budget. City College could lose $9 million in grants if it decides to bar recruiters outright.
“It would be very painful — extremely painful — to lose this funding,” Chief Financial Officer James Kendrix said. “When you lose funding, you don’t just delete programs and services. You have to find another way to provide those resources.”
Without federal money, the nationally recognized community health worker program would have been impossible, according to Evans campus dean Phyllis McGuire. “These are the kinds of dollars that allow us to provide new and creative services and improve existing programs for students.”
The remaining $18.5 million of federal funding is student financial aid unaffected by the Solomon Amendment.
“Under the Clinton administration I wouldn’t have had any fear,” Trustee Johnnie Carter said. “But with the passage of the Patriot Act, I think any institution that passes any resolution against the military, there’s a good chance they’d lose those grants … I’m hard pressed to have a level of comfort with students still getting aid.”
The Associated Students and the Campus Anti-War Network are both against military recruiting on campus.
An AS resolution asking the Board of Trustees to study the possibility of banning military recruiting prompted Day to write his own resolution for the Board of Trustees. The Board voted unanimously on March 24 to proceed with the study.
“If there’s a way to fight this without losing federal funding, this is the way we felt best to do it,” AS Senator Jose Villalobos said.
The City College branch of the national Campus Anti-War Network joined protesters March 9 at San Francisco State University in a rally against military recruiters.
Recruiters left an hour early due to the chanting protesters.
“We can make change,” said Maria D’Amelio, president of the City College Campus Anti-War Network. “A few hundred people getting together can actually kick military recruiters off campus.”
e-mail: afong@theguardsman.com
STEM CELL GRANT: Funding will create new certification program
BY PAULETTE BLEAM
Contributing Writer
City College received a $780,000 grant from the Governor’s Office to create a Stem Cell Certificate training program that will provide students with updated equipment and skills necessary to enhance their abilities in the field.
The Governor’s Office chose City College out of 109 California community colleges to receive the grant.
Board of Trustees President Rodel Rodis said a portion of the money would go toward training City College faculty as well as upgrading their skills.
“This is another example of how City College tries to get ahead of the wave,” said Chancellor Philip R. Day, Jr. “We have chosen to be a model center for the rest of the country.”
“We are absolutely thrilled with this grant and really proud of our program,” Board Vice President Natalie Berg said. “It is a real career path for the future.”
e-mail: citynewseditor@theguardsman.com
BY ANGELA HOKANSON
Contributing Writer
ELI MILCHMAN / GUARDSMAN |
With San Francisco Muni-cipal Railway (Muni) base fares poised to increase by 25 cents this September — and no general student discount available — some City College students feel the impending increase will pinch their already tight budgets. Yet many do not plan to change their transportation hab-its in response.
The fare increase, as well as an added $5 to the monthly Fast Pass, will go into effect on all Muni lines Sept. 1 if the Board of Supervisors approves its
budget this summer.
“There is a nice chunk of students that will get hit pretty hard if this goes through,” said Veronica Laurence, student body trustee.
One such student is Elena Cabrera, who takes Muni to class. With all the associated fees, “sometimes it’s almost impossible to go to school,” she said.
Still, some students have few alternatives. “If you don’t have a car, you don’t have a choice,” City College student Jorge Vargas said.
Other students don’t see the increase as such a big problem. Student Oliver Palmar doubted whether 25 cents would have
a huge impact on people’s ability to take Muni.
Last year City College’s Associated Students Council, along with students from San Francisco State University, looked at the possibility of obtaining a discounted Muni rate for students at the two schools. However, the students’ conversations with Muni officials didn’t progress far, noted Adam Fetterman, student vice president of finance.
Associate Dean of Student Activities Skip Fotch stated that garnering enough student interest in the Class Pass program at City College could be a challenge because many students commute to San Francisco from other cities and counties and do not regularly use Muni.
In order for a school to participate in the program, the student body has to vote for it, and the school has to collect the associated semester fees from every student, said Maggie Lynch, Muni’s community and media relations officer.
However, Fotch does not view the Class Pass arrangement as being either a student or an administrative issue. He feels progress towards a discount depends on how Muni is able to create an arrangement that accommodates City College students.
Fetterman said the Class Pass would have to be optional to have any chance of being approved by City College students, noting that a measure to add a $1 charge to all student accounts to pay for a lawyer has failed several years in a row.
BY MILES HARWELL
Staff Writer
Six resource centers are located on Ocean campus.
The Dr. Betty Shabazz Family Resource Center offers information about domestic violence, housing and family topics.
Maria Matus, who worked at the center four semesters, believes one of the more beneficial aspects of the center is the Parent Exchange Program, which allows student parents to drop their children off while they attend classes, utilize the computer lab or attend meetings.
The Women’s Resource Center in Smith Hall sponsors lectures, films, support groups and workshops. WRC also has computers available with Internet access.
“I feel I can come to the center whenever and feel respected,” said Marissa Edmonds, a third semester student at City College.
The Multicultural Resource Center opened in October and is located on the lower level of the Student Union. It offers access to a database of nonprofit organizations.
“I found the information I needed for my research, so I guess it was helpful enough,” said Raymond Leonard, a visitor to the center.
Future plans for the MRC will include a new video lab in a separate room with a larger selection of videotapes.
e-mail: mharwell@theguardsman.com
BY ALEX K. FONG
Editor
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MIRA RAYKOVA / GUARDSMAN Mutual support and community are the objectives of the new interim director of the City College Latino Services Network.
“I don’t believe anyone makes it through this life alone,” said Vivian Calderon, who began working as interim director this semester. “People claim it, but I don’t believe it.”
Continuing to provide Latino students with bilingual academic counseling and school orientations while connecting them to other campus services and organizations are among her goals. She also hopes to complete an e-mail listserv to communicate with students and a demographic student profile to apply for grants.
Office remodeling during the summer will increase student-counselor interaction and the size of the computer lab, Calderon said.
“They really help me out with the classes I want to take and to choose my major,” said City College student Brenda Avila about the network. “If I don’t understand something, someone can help me … it’s like a family here.”
Calderon grew up in predominantly Mexican East Los Angeles. Her elementary school experience was unchallenging, but she says the standardized curriculum and accessibility of college information in
junior high school made up for it.
In 1984, Calderon re-ceived her doctorate in social psychology.
She served as a City College institutional re-searcher before going on leave in 1999 to work for the University of California.
She returned to City Col-lege in 2003 to join the Cali-fornia Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program providing education, training and support services to students.
“I couldn’t have made it without her,” said Jorge Bell, dean of financial aid and Calderon’s former supervisor at the work program.
During her time there, “she was able to petition the state for $340,000 that would traditionally be returned to the state. Through her leadership, she was able to retain the money for programs here.”
e-mail: afong@theguardsman.com
BY DAN POWELL
Staff Writer
Construction of the new Mission campus cleared a small hurdle on April 14 when the Board of Trustees reached a consensus with regard to awarding the construction of building contracts for the facility.
This approach is supposed to lower costs while allowing small businesses to compete for building contracts. City College has a policy that, in an effort to promote fairness and diversity, requires the school to hire small business enterprises (SBEs) for a minimum of 25 percent of all construction work.
Some, including Trustee Milton Marks III, cited concerns about oversight. “Those are admirable goals … but with the amount of information that I have, how is the district going to be able to assure both the cost containment and the SBE goals?” Marks asked.
e-mail: dpowell@theguardsman.com
City College at Large
Call or e-mail Adam Brody with campus wide news at
(415) 239-3446 or associatenews@theguardsman.com
Downtown Campus
Renovations continue on the second floor library, which is expected to be completed in late May. The campus is also in the process of moving the dining room of the Educated Palate restaurant from the basement to the first floor. A new café, Bean Scene, will open adjacent to the restaurant. The café is slated for completion by September, and both projects are expected to be finished in time for a grand opening in late October or early November.
Chinatown Campus
The Chinatown campus is conducting matriculation for non-credit students wishing to transfer over to credit classes. The campus has also started recruiting for the Vocational Office Training program for ESL students. Call 561-1853 for more information.
John Adams Campus
The John Adams campus held the tenth annual Community Health Fair on April 13. The event was open to students and the public, and was attended by a variety of health care providers with HIV blood testing available. The health department has also begun orientations for enrollment in the health programs. All interested students should call 561-1907 for more information.
Evans Campus
The Evans campus will revisit their biodiesel workshop on May 6, due to increasing interest. The seven-hour event will explore the application and manufacture of the revolutionary alternative vegetable oil fuel. The Evans campus will also offer a motorcycle repair workshop on June 3. Contact David Dias at 550-4455 for more information.
Short Cuts
Vandalism in the Reservoir
Two parking ticket-vending boxes in the reservoir parking lot are working again after vandals used low-power explosives on the boxes in March. “One of the machines impacted was near the ramp next to Archbishop Riordan High School and did a lot of business, so we took one from the southwest corner and moved it over,” said Carl S. Koehler, campus police chief. “The cost of replacing the machines is about $11,000 a piece, and a claim has been sent to the insurance company,” said Muriel Parenteau, Parking and Transportation Committee chair.
Career Fair
The 11th Annual Spring Career Information Fair will take place on Wednesday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the student cafeteria. Twenty-eight employers from the Bay Area will answer questions and offer information to students looking for a job or who are preparing for the job market later in life. Employ-ers who will be present include UPS, the Peace Corps, Univision Radio and the San Francisco Airport Commission.
Parking Permits Will be Available Online
Students will be able to purchase parking permits online while registering for classes. This is to reduce the lines in Conlan Hall and make it more convenient for students. The permits will be available online in the fall.
BY NATHAN WEYLAND
Staff Writer
Humans are creatures of habit and most of our day is spent performing a set of ritualistic tasks. Everything from dressing in the morning to showering at night is executed systematically.
However, it’s possible to be too set in your ways. A yearning for stability can become an excuse for immobility and safety, which might set the path of our entire lives. Habit makes things predictable and familiar, but it limits our experience and potential for growth. Where should the line be drawn?
Minor variations in your daily routine can breathe new vitality into what may have become a tired existence. Coercing others to do so might not hurt either.
For example, you know those people who sit in the same chair every class session? Mix it up a little, arrive early and grab the chair before they have a chance. Then sit back and watch the confusion when they arrive. Not only are simple exercises like this entertaining, but they also serve as an important lesson in human habits and adaptability.
Soon your confused peers will realize that all chairs are created equal. They may even forgo their favoritism in exchange for an exciting variety of gluteus-based experience.
So maybe tomorrow you’ll put your socks on in reverse order or purchase a one-way ticket to Katmandu. Maybe you’ll walk up the hill past Science Hall instead of going around it. The view is much better that way. What’s the purpose of living if you don’t take time to admire it every once in a while?
e-mail: nweyland@theguardsman.com